If anyone tries to make a list of vegetables they include in their day-to-day food recipes, the carrot will undoubtedly make it.
As carrot is rich in nutrients like beta-carotene, vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, potassium, copper, folate, iron, and many more, it is justified that carrot is a preferred vegetable to a lot of people.
But everyone finds themselves in a position where they run out of carrot while preparing soup or salad. A good substitute can come in handy in instances like that.
Carrot tastes best when used in juices and salads. These substitutes should be able to provide you with incredible tastes in juices and salads, along with the nutrient elements. The alternatives we have chosen for our list can do just that.
Here are the best carrot substitutes you can consider.
1. Parsnips
Though having different colors, parsnips even look like carrots. And not just the looks, parsnips and carrots have more in common.
Some salads include both carrots and parsnips to create a unique combination. The sweet herbal flavor of parsnips goes very well with raw carrots. However, the former can be used as a decent substitute for the later.
If you are cooking something using parsnips as a substitute, then give it a bit less cooking time as it is not as hard as carrots. While preparing stew or soup, add parsnips at the end of the cooking time so that they don’t become mushy.
2. Cucumber
Cucumber is a remarkable substitute to the carrot for vegetable juice recipes. As cucumbers are quite large considering the size, you can extract more juice from it compared to most other veggies. That’s why you will also need a lot fewer cucumbers than carrots while making juices.
Like carrots, cucumbers are also rich in vitamins and fiber. Even raw cucumber tastes excellent, especially in summer.
Because of the nutrient properties, cucumber is a very well-known organic beauty compound widely used in all over the world.
3. Zucchini
Zucchini is rich in vitamin A.
The best part about this green vegetable is, it contains little to no calories. If you are looking forward to preparing a calorie-free diet, look into zucchini without any second thoughts.
You can replace carrots with zucchinis in almost every single dish, even the sweet ones.
Various juices can be prepared with zucchini as well.
Like carrots, zucchinis are easy to grow in backyard gardens can give a good harvest with minimum maintenance.
4. Squash
The earthy and sweet flavor of squash has made it a quite brilliant ingredient for cooking soups. It is possible to replace carrot in every carrot soup with squash. According to many, squash tastes better than carrot in cashew soup.
Use the same amount of squash as carrots while using it as a substitute. Carrots and squash have nothing in common considering their looks. But you’ll find a lot in common in terms of their tastes and nutrients.
5. Beets
Beet is a lovely vegetable because of the gorgeous purple color. Like carrots and turnips, it is another root vegetable having countless nutrient properties. You can eat the leafy top of the beet too along with the root.
It is preferred to use beets as a carrot substitute in boiled and roasted dishes mostly. Raw beets don’t taste as good as carrots, but it depends a lot on personal preferences. Anyways, you can still apply beets in smoothies and fresh salads.
Health Benefits of Carrots
Including carrot and its substitutes in your regular food plan will provide you with a lot of health benefits. Such as:
- Consuming carrots on a daily basis can drop cholesterol levels by 11 percent approximately.
- Antioxidants in carrots reduce the number of harmful cholesterols significantly, lowering the risk of heart attacks.
- Being fiber-rich, carrots lessen the chances of falling prey to colon cancer. Besides, women who eat raw carrots are less likely to get breast cancer.
- The vitamin A in carrots does a lot for maintaining good eye-sight. You will be able to see better in lower light and stay away from night-blindness if carrot is a part of your everyday recipes.
Final Thoughts
Carrot and its replacements are great sources of required nutrients for your body. But it’s not the right way to depend heavily on only one type of vegetable for maintaining a balanced diet.
Other than root vegetables, you also need other options like tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers, and fresh fruits, to make your diet perfect. Making your diet one dimensional by emphasizing on only one type of veggies will make it weaker.
Make sure to experiment with different types of fruits and vegetables to sort out the perfect diet for your lifestyle and health maintenance. Don’t forget to include carrots and these recommended substitutes in the process!
